Kauthar, 40
Nurse

When are you happiest?

I think when my kids are all well fed, and I feel that I’ve done a good job with my children. So that’s either on a daily basis or weekly basis.

What’s something that you are passionate about?

I’m a nurse, so I would like universal health care for everybody. And also because I have my origins in Papua New Guinea, and sometimes I get a bit concerned about the health care in Papua New Guinea, so in the future I’d like to, it’s not something in my life in the moment but it sits there dormant, and I think it’s a passion that will surface, which will be just to help others in terms of their health.

What is a significant achievement of yours?

I think just being a mum. And I think having seven kids, I think that’s an achievement in a way. Hopefully I raise them to be good citizens and good adults. Being a mum, a mum of seven, because it’s a hard job so I think I feel proud but I am not sure if I am doing it well enough.

Who is your role model?

I think I look to different people as role models. But particularly Muslim women because I think they are often strong women. So my sister in law, my husband’s sister, I think I look up to her a lot. And she’s a great example of a Muslim woman, and mother, and a strong woman. I look to Muslim women as role models.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I think my heritage, people would be surprised because I have a white Aussie dad, that’s what I call him, and my mum’s from Papua New Guinea, and she’s from an area called Hanu Batta. So not typically a Muslim area, actually there are very few Muslims there, and the fact that my Grandmother was also born in England. So I think that mixed culture and mixed heritage does surprise people sometimes because they think when you wear the scarf you are from Iraq or Iran, and I’ve had people say that, and it surprises them maybe pleasantly that I am from this region, the pacific, that’s about all.

What’s the greatest risk you’ve taken?

When my cousin, when I was about 21, she married in Airlie beach. I ended up sailing on this little yacht or sailing boat, not sure what the difference is between those. I sailed from Airlie Beach to Gladstone, and I was supposed to help bring the boat down to Brisbane because it was being sold. It was just me and another friend of my cousin’s, and we sailed back down. It was quite risky but I didn’t realise it at the time but looking back maybe it was risky. To me that was risky but fun, and it ended well, there was no boating accidents but it was risky in the sense that anything could have happened out at sea.

What’s something that has changed your life?

Probably becoming Muslim. I wasn’t always Muslim, so that’s changed my life in the sense of my outlook, and looking at life in a different perspective than previously before I was Muslim.

What role do your beliefs play in your life?

I think they play a big role and a role every day. I think they pretty much is the basis for all my decisions and thoughts, and what I would, if I was making a decisions, you know I would think is this the Islamically right decision or is this an appropriate in terms of being a Muslim. So they would guide me, my beliefs would guide me pretty much all the time every day. So much so that if I was maybe saying something that wasn’t so positive about someone else, then I might think I better check myself again or might scold myself and say that’s not a very nice thing to say, because sometimes we can be all be a bit mean about someone else or talk behind their back which is not a nice thing. All aspects of my life my beliefs do impact on my life every day.

What’s your best advice for others?

Always be kind and let your decisions and things that you are doing in life be with the intentions not to be harmful or mean.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I would like people to be open minded, and to accept others. And sometimes maybe to be thinkers, and to always be thinking so that things they might see in the media or on the tv, to maybe look a bit deeper and not take everything at face value. For all people to be thinkers and to use their brain and to critically analyse things sometimes because you can’t take everything at face value.